1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to training devices for tennis and other racquet sports.
2. Background of the Related Art
Tennis training aids are well-known in the prior art. Representative patents include U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,465 to Roland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,821 to Racz, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,169 to Roberts. The Roland patent describes a device comprising a harness secured to the wearer's body and a cord that extends from the harness to the tennis racquet. The device is designed to assist the trainee in stroking the racquet in such a manner that the head of the racquet does not shift in a vertical plane below the trainee's wrist. The harness is adapted to be worn about the user's neck. The Racz patent describes a tennis training device to reduce the likelihood of the user developing tennis elbow. The device comprises a flexible strap that extends from a fitting on the head of the player's racquet to a member engaging the user's wrist. The strap establishes a desired angular relation between the player's arm and the longitudinal axis of the racquet. The Roberts patent describes another such device to facilitate the user's maintaining a proper grip on the handle of the racket. This device includes a wristband, a racket-handle band and inter-connectable strap segments separately attached to such bands for tethering the racket handle to the wrist, thereby forcing the player to hold the head of the racket above the wrist. This arrangement is also said to force the handle of the racket to assume a proper angle with respect to the player's forearm.
While these and other devices are useful and provide some advantages, there remains a long-felt need in the art to provide improved racquet stroke training aids, especially for forehand stroke training.